Cuba's... an odd choice, but no more so than Israel last season. There's no travel advisories against it, and we don't have the weird "you can visit all you want, but you can't spend any money to support their economy" restriction the US has against Cuba.

Cuba's... an odd choice, but no more so than Israel last season. There's no travel advisories against it, and we don't have the weird "you can visit all you want, but you can't spend any money to support their economy" restriction the US has against Cuba.

It does suggest there won't be a visit to the US itself, though.

We only have 1 piece of evidence of Cuba so its not confirmed but it looks legitimate based on location and timeframe. We do have a gap between Paris and Vancouver. Havana to Vancouver via Toronto transit is the speculation. It also looks likely 2 legs in Canada? We may be then down to 4 teams, which would leave 2 or 3 legs left (if there is a final NEL).

US would be a good option giving direct flights back to the East coast of Australia. Also New Zealand could be an option too.

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"I wish the world was flat like the old days, and I could travel just by folding a map."

Cuba's... an odd choice, but no more so than Israel last season. There's no travel advisories against it, and we don't have the weird "you can visit all you want, but you can't spend any money to support their economy" restriction the US has against Cuba.

It does suggest there won't be a visit to the US itself, though.

I think tarfly was suggesting that they would not visit the USA because they went to Cuba first.I've been to Cuba many times and it's never caused me any problems with travel to any other country.

Cuba's... an odd choice, but no more so than Israel last season. There's no travel advisories against it, and we don't have the weird "you can visit all you want, but you can't spend any money to support their economy" restriction the US has against Cuba.

It does suggest there won't be a visit to the US itself, though.

I think tarfly was suggesting that they would not visit the USA because they went to Cuba first.I've been to Cuba many times and it's never caused me any problems with travel to any other country.

I can remember the last few times I've had to do my visitation visas to the US they've asked questions about Cuba. And I know that when I got my work visa to do the summer camp they told me I would not be allowed to enter the USA if I had been to Cuba already on the trip.

By the way, if the Grouse Mountain cable car seen in the spoiler pics looks familiar, it may be because it's the same one Fox Mulder was hanging from in that X-Files episode where Scully was abducted by aliens.

It looks like TAR Australia will go from Vancouver to Location Removed. Banff. I'm going to have to hunt down the episode when it airs. I love Vancouver and Location Removed Banff!

After thinking it over, I've removed the info until after the next leg has been run as I don't want to cause people to show up and interfere with the filming. Vancouver sounded chaotic and it appears that at least one location was scrapped due to the presence of fans. I don't want a repeat of that. I've passed on the information to Peach to put it up later or I'll do it myself. If it doesn't get posted before then, which is likely.

Since they are leaving at 7 AM and 8 AM this morning (Tuesday) for a 9-10 hour bus ride to Banff, they won't get there before sunset tonight and I expect an HOO. Therefore, most of the activity will likely be on Wednesday.

Plaidmoon, A Tweeter may think it's only a 9-10 hour bus trip, but I took the train the opposite direction and it was about 24 hours so that doesn't compute. Here is the word on the bus trip:

The distance from Vancouver to Banff is 880 km (530 miles). It takes 10½ hours to drive, not counting stops for scenery, food, fuel, and bathrooms.

"I can't speak for production, but I really like that people see us when we're traveling around the world. If you're a fan of the show, ... you're going to be more excited because you want to see what happens." --Phil Keoghan

It looks like TAR Australia will go from Vancouver to Location Removed. Banff. I'm going to have to hunt down the episode when it airs. I love Vancouver and Location Removed Banff!

After thinking it over, I've removed the info until after the next leg has been run as I don't want to cause people to show up and interfere with the filming. Vancouver sounded chaotic and it appears that at least one location was scrapped due to the presence of fans. I don't want a repeat of that. I've passed on the information to Peach to put it up later or I'll do it myself. If it doesn't get posted before then, which is likely.

Since they are leaving at 7 AM and 8 AM this morning (Tuesday) for a 9-10 hour bus ride to Banff, they won't get there before sunset tonight and I expect an HOO. Therefore, most of the activity will likely be on Wednesday.

Plaidmoon, A Tweeter may think it's only a 9-10 hour bus trip, but I took the train the opposite direction and it was about 24 hours so that doesn't compute. Here is the word on the bus trip:

The distance from Vancouver to Banff is 880 km (530 miles). It takes 10½ hours to drive, not counting stops for scenery, food, fuel, and bathrooms.

With stops for food, fuel and bathrooms, figure more like 12 hours.

I got the 9 to 10 hours by googling for driving time estimates. I saw everything from 9 to 12 hours without stops. I was being optimistic. I figured they probably handed them bag lunches for the bus ride, but they may very well have stopped for a meal and gas break somewhere. The driver surely needed it. I don't think the estimate mattered much since they were surely going to arrive after sundown. I was confident they would have an HOO rather than shoot at night and miss the mountain scenery. Why go to Banff and not show off the mountains? Given the teams were seen running around late in the evening, you're probably right about 12 hours. It may have been 13 or 14 hours.

@Mandiepants23Mandie SAmazing race at our hotel!!! What the hell is going on

(She's from Alberta)

More specifically, her twitter page says she's at Lake Louise, Alberta. Lake Louise is about 60 km (or 40 miles) from Banff and is another scenic landmark. It's not at all surprising they would be going there.

Having driven from Banff to Vancouver before, I would say 11-12 hours is probably the fastest a car could make the trip. The highways will also be very snowy, so there could have been many delays on the way there as well.

Since they are leaving at 7 AM and 8 AM this morning (Tuesday) for a 9-10 hour bus ride to Banff, they won't get there before sunset tonight and I expect an HOO. Therefore, most of the activity will likely be on Wednesday.

In looking at ARAus2 from an overview perspective, I believe it is about to finish in North America and head from Calgary airport back to Australia or to New Zealand for the finish. In considering the options, the most likely in my opinion is an east coast city in Australia that is not Sydney (that was the start of the race). That most likely means Brisbane. The alternative is Auckland, New Zealand . The most direct and straightforward flight connections to either one are in Los Angeles. I expect teams to do this:

In looking at ARAus2 from an overview perspective, I believe it is about to finish in North America and head from Calgary airport back to Australia or to New Zealand for the finish.

So soon? There were six teams in Vancouver, assuming one got eliminated there and one in Lake Louse we still have four teams. I would expect them to eliminate one more team before heading back to Australia. But they could of course do that on New Zealand.

And there are definitely five spaces on the sign-up board for the Banff buses. I'd bet this is what's happening:

Leg 1 - Sydney to Manila to Legazpi (11 down to 10)Leg 2 - Legazpi to Baguio (10 down to 9)Leg 3 - Baguio to Delhi (NEL)Leg 4 - Delhi to Dubai (9 down to Leg 5 - Dubai to Istanbul (8 down to 7)Leg 6 - Istanbul to Gelibolu (NEL)Leg 7 - Gelibolu to Paris (7 down to 6)Leg 8 - Paris to Havana (NEL)Leg 9 - Havana to Vancouver (6 down to 5)Leg 10 - Vancouver to Banff (5 down to 4)Leg 11 - Banff to , likely Los Angeles or some other western US city (4 down to 3)Leg 12 - to Honolulu to , likely Brisbane/Gold Coast area (finale)

Looks like we've still got two legs left.

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DavidJunior

In looking at ARAus2 from an overview perspective, I believe it is about to finish in North America and head from Calgary airport back to Australia or to New Zealand for the finish. In considering the options, the most likely in my opinion is an east coast city in Australia that is not Sydney (that was the start of the race). That most likely means Brisbane. The alternative is Auckland, New Zealand . The most direct and straightforward flight connections to either one are in Los Angeles. I expect teams to do this: